Every week, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich talks with contributor Eric Benson about the biggest stories in politics and culture. This week: Christie's 2016 prospects, Rand Paul's Jonah Lehrer problem, McAuliffe's underwhelming victory, and De Blasio's first challenges. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie won a landslide reelection yesterday, significantly outperforming the national Republican Party among black, Hispanic, and female voters. Christie has been viewed as too moderate to win a Republican presidential primary, but he's popular, pragmatic, and has lots of momentum. Is he the 2016 GOP front-runner? There is no front-runner for 2016. But the excessive valuation given...

Saturday, November 02, 2013 It's De Blasio Time Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog Do you miss the old New York City? Remember when subway trains were covered in graffiti, a news hour began with six shootings and everyone who lived in the city had been mugged at least once? Remember when Times Square had more strip clubs than theaters and when you could afford an apartment in the village because it was a drug infested mess? Remember when the city and everyone living in it were on the verge of bankruptcy and the only people who...

I assume people with billions of dollars wake up in the morning – every morning – thinking to themselves, “should I use my money for good. . . Or for evil?” Mayor Bloomberg, in his Blofeld style lair, apparently decided to utilize his monetary powers in an effort to impact the lives of citizens thousands of miles away. (From a libertarian point of view, this would fall in the category of “evil.”) It is one type of annoying authoritarian-idiocy to ban guns, high-capacity sodas, and trans fats; but his efforts to export his New York socialist utopia on unsuspecting...

The president visited the Pathways in Technology Early College High School in Crown HeightsPresident Barack Obama praised Brooklyn on Friday for being forever "cool" and noted that it has drawn generations of immigrants seeking better opportunities, which he said should inspire the nation's approach to education. Obama spoke at the Pathways in Technology Early College High School, known as P-Tech, which he praised for graduating students with a high school diploma and an associates degree. The school opened in 2011 in a rough stretch of Crown Heights. "What's going on here at P-Tech is outstanding, and I'm excited to see...

Bill de Blasio may be dominating in the polls, but a collection of the city’s labor unions is trying to run up the score by continuing to link his main rival in the mayor’s race, Joe Lhota, to the right-wing of his own party. The group, New York Progress, launched what one labor organizer today told Capital New York is a $1 million-dollar television buy that tries to work in the words “Republican” and “Tea Party” as many times as possible. “The Tea Party Republicans shut down our government but Joe Lhota told the Tea Party he shares their views,”...

Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City Bill de Blasio’s campaign released an ad Thursday slamming billionaire Republican donors the Koch brothers. “Don’t let the Koch Brothers buy the election,” the ad says, which also labels the David and Charles Koch as a pair “who spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to defeat President Obama.” “They’re back. And now they’ve set their sights on New York City,” the ad continues. The ad follows a court decision Thursday that will now allow a conservative political action committee, that supports Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota, to accept unlimited contributions. In a...

The man who once hired New York City mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota as his deputy recently detailed the stakes involved in the race for Gracie Mansion. Rudolph W. Giuliani told local conservatives that “We get one chance to get it right,” by electing his Republican protégé. “And if we get it wrong,” America’s mayor added, “you know what can happen. Bill de Blasio creates a sense of fear about what can happen to this city, and the fear is real. This city very easily could become another Chicago or Detroit or a combination of Chicago or Detroit.” Giuliani observed that...

This morning's NY Daily News criticized the New York City Republican mayoral candidate for being respectful of Jewish customs. In the Orthodox Jewish tradition men and women are separated during prayer services. When Republican candidate Joe Lhota visited the Shomer Shabbos Synagogue on Wednesday, he stood in the back as a prayer service was going on. In the video above around the 46 second mark one can hear a member of the congregation ask Lhota to have the women in his entourage wait outside because prayers were going on. The NY Daily News blasted Lhota for the incident. Joe Lhota...

Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio is blasting opponent Joe LhotaÂ’s latest political attack ad, calling it Â“desperateÂ” and Â“divisive.Â” The ad shows video from last monthÂ’s melee on the West Side Highway, where a father was beaten by a gang of bikers while his wife and daughter were in the car. Graffiti covered subway cars and images that conjure memories of the crime riddled New York City of the Â’80â€²s and early Â’90s are also highlighted in the republican candidates TV spot. Â“Bill de Blasio voted to take over 5,000 cops off our streets,Â” a narrator reads. Â“And de BlasioÂ’s...

No matter who is elected mayor next month, city kids will likely find two new vacation days on the school calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the holiest days of the Muslim year. Both Democrat Bill de Blasio and Republican Joe Lhota say schools should close on the two holidays, just as they do for major Jewish and Christian days. It's a matter of "respect" for a religion practiced by an estimated 13 percent of city school kids, de Blasio said Wednesday at a campaign rally with Muslim groups in Brooklyn. "The origins of this nation (are) people of many...

(subtitled, "Many Upset Over Proposals By Dem. Mayoral Candidate Bill de Blasio") As many as 17,000 parents, students and educators took part in a rally Tuesday in support of New York City’s charter schools. Wearing shirts that said “Charter Schools Are Public Schools” and “My Child, My Choice,” protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. Many charter school parents and teachers are upset over some proposals by Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio, which include ending the practice of allowing charter schools to share space in buildings with traditional public schools... “I’m here to fight for the charter...

Mayoral front-runner Bill de Blasio may be 50 points ahead in the polls, but that isn’t stopping him from hitting his Republican rival, Joe Lhota, whenever he sees an open shot. Today’s opportunity for the Democrat came when Mr. Lhota said in a WNYC interview that he believes Obamacare’s individual mandate should be postponed for a year because of alleged widespread confusion over its implementation. “This is another example of the fact that Joe Lhota is a true Republican who is aligning in this case with the extreme views of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives,” charged Mr....

Well, that escalated quickly. The general election reached a new heated phase this morning as Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota charged that Democrat Bill de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” message was “directly out of the Marxist playbook.” Mr. Lhota had already criticized Mr. de Balsio yesterday following a New York Times report that described Mr. de Blasio’s past support for revolutionary Nicaraguan politics, as well as his desire for a “democratic socialism” vision for society–which Mr. Lhota called “unfortunate.” But Mr. Lhota doubled down today in far harsher words–calling on Mr. de Blasio to “explain himself” and equating Mr....

Extra, extra, read all about it. Not all New Yorkers have the same incomes! Not all have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams! And most — gasp! — don’t live on Park Avenue or have nannies and housekeepers! If this doesn’t strike you as breathtaking news, then you didn’t drink the Kool-Aid and join Bill de Blasio’s movement. I say movement because de Blasio doesn’t just want to be mayor. He has discovered there is poverty in Gotham and many other pesky outcomes where some people do better than others. And he intends to end that disparity. “Fighting inequality and fighting...

Christine Quinn, the Democratic Choice Ms. Quinn, the City Council speaker, offers the judgment and record of achievement anyone should want in a mayor. Two opponents—Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, and William Thompson Jr., former comptroller—offer powerful arguments on their own behalf. But Ms. Quinn inspires the most confidence that she would be the right mayor for the inevitable times when hope and idealism collide with the challenge of getting something done. … For Republicans, Joseph LhotaYou might find it odd to see this page endorsing the mayoral candidacy of Joseph Lhota, a Republican who made his mark in...